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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> I need lighting help - quick!!!!!
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02/19/2006 01:11:35 PM · #1
I have a shoot at 2:00pm with a family of 4 and I need some help quick.

I am shooting against a gray sheet.... and I keep getting horrible shadows. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I have 2 pictures of what I am talking about, and one of my setup. These are the lights I have. And I use the 2 higher watt lights.

What am I doing wrong? And does the sheet look cheesy?

*Please excuse my daughter and her silly faces! LoL







I know the sheet is wrinkled, I am taking care of that now.

Any help would be great! :)
Thanks,
Lorrie
02/19/2006 01:13:28 PM · #2
Move the subject away from the sheet some more. She is too close.
02/19/2006 01:15:50 PM · #3
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Move the subject away from the sheet some more. She is too close.


In the first one, she is about a foot from the back of the sheet. Will the shadows decrease with more people?
02/19/2006 01:16:07 PM · #4
If by horrible shadows you mean the faint shadows on the sheet, you gotta move the subject further from the BG. Looking at your setup, I don't see how you can do this with a family of 4. If it's just a group headshot and you work from clear across the room with a long lens, you might be able to do it. But if you are standing closer to them with a wider lens, the angle of view will show wall on each side of the sheet. The lighting itself seems workmanlike.

R.
02/19/2006 01:17:40 PM · #5
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The lighting itself seems workmanlike.

R.


What do you mean by workmanlike?
02/19/2006 01:18:12 PM · #6
The lighting in this arrangement is flat - too even across the subject. Try putting the fill light (one with umbrella) behind you and above your head. The light with the softbox looks like its in the right position for portrait, but a bit too close I think. You want the light to move softly across the subject, leaving areas of shadow/highlight rather than a full wash. Hope that helps.
02/19/2006 01:23:33 PM · #7
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

If by horrible shadows you mean the faint shadows on the sheet, you gotta move the subject further from the BG. Looking at your setup, I don't see how you can do this with a family of 4. If it's just a group headshot and you work from clear across the room with a long lens, you might be able to do it. But if you are standing closer to them with a wider lens, the angle of view will show wall on each side of the sheet. The lighting itself seems workmanlike.

R.


That's what I was going to say! and that's not a horrible shadow, I can show you horrible shadows if you really want to know what they look like ;).

I shot this one for a homework assignment. I used my wide angle and still had a tough time because I don't have the space to pull them forward from the background. I hate my backdrop and always fight darker areas unless I keep an even light on it or have my subjects at least six feet away and/or use my zoom and just blur out the background. I recently tried gels on my bd light and got some nicer effects.


Good luck. Don't panic and you should be able to figure out something that will work for you.

Message edited by author 2006-02-19 13:43:32.
02/19/2006 01:47:24 PM · #8
First use a nice long lens, if possible.

Your subject move away from the bg.

Smooth the wrinckles in your bg.

Key light not directly on, but at 11 o clock, or 1 o clock.

Back light as far back as possible, even over the top of your syc. A higher angle than your key may not look bad, but not too high

If you have a 3rd light, use it to fill the subjects.

A bounce fill is what we do at work 60% of the time, so if you have a reflector, or foam core, white paper, any of these will work.

Diffusion is good like your fabric soft box.

Make sure the light is appealing to you.

Experiment if you can, give a couple of differant looks. Don't be in a hurry. Tell you subjects that is what you are going to do, because people think since you have a camera and lights, you can just buzz right through. When the opposite is usually the rule.

There is no right way to light, but there are plenty of wrong ways.
02/19/2006 02:09:29 PM · #9
Can people actually put pictures of their setup here to help?
02/19/2006 02:18:40 PM · #10
Originally posted by nsoroma79:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

The lighting itself seems workmanlike.

R.


What do you mean by workmanlike?


Smooth and unobjectionable, but fairtly plain-vanilla. You're getting some good lighting advice from others, so I'll bow out of that part; I shoot with natural light. my studio days are far, far in the past.

R.
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